U.S Deploys Carrier Strike Group, Bombers to Middle East

U.S. Navy Mobilizes For Southeast Asia Aid Relief

A carrier strike group and bomber task force is being deployed by the United States in what officials with President Donald Trump administration are calling a warning to Iran.

"In response to a number of troubling and escalatory indications and warnings, the United States is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region to send a clear and unmistakable message to the Iranian regime that any attack on United States interests or on those of our allies will be met with unrelenting force," National Security Adviser Bolton said Sunday in a statement.

One official with direct knowledge of the threats told CNN that they were directed against both U.S. maritime and land-based forces in the region.

The U.S. is deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and a bomber task force to the U.S. Central Command region, which includes the Middle East.

"The United States is not seeking war with the Iranian regime, but we are fully prepared to respond to any attack, whether by proxy, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or regular Iranian forces," Bolton said.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters that plans to deploy the strike group had been in the works for some time.

"It is absolutely the case that we have seen escalatory actions from the Iranians and it is equally the case that we will hold the Iranians accountable for attacks on American interests," Pompeo said. "If these actions take place, if they do by some third-party proxy, a militia group, Hezbollah, we will hold the Iranian leadership directly accountable for that."

The Trump administration has been intensifying the pressure against Iran's regime and economy with a series of moves. Last month, sanctions were announced against any country, including U.S. allies, who import oil from Iran. Officials also recently designated Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist operation.